SCVWD CSA - May 25

What's in the Box?

Look at those Peas and Greens Go!

Peas, Fava Beans, Lettuce!, Swiss Chard, Mint, Lemons, Onions or Green Garlic (just for you J), Rat Tails, Radishes.

And this weeks special gifts:  Strawberry Jam & Organic Olive Oil.

Baked Radish Chips

5 radishes
1/2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. garlic salt
1/2 t. paprika
Thinly slice the radishes.  Steam in microwave 5 minutes.  Put in a bowl with spices and stir.
Oil a pan and bake the chips at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Flip the chips and bake for another 10 minutes.

Spring is Here
I love these.  Nothing says Spring is here more than Favas, radishes and lettuce on the farm.  We like Favas so much that Leo and I crisp up many a leaf before there are really favas.  Making Fava Bean leaves is really easy.  I dissolve a little salt in some water and swish the leaves in it.  I then lightly oil a frying pan and put it on high.  I drop the leaves in one by one and flip and remove them.  Leo stands and gobbles them as fast as I can make them.  Now that the beans are here.  I want them for every meal.

Golden Peas

Fava Beans:

To store Fava Bean pods, place them in a plastic bag in the crisper section of the refrigerator right away. The pods will keep for five to seven days in the refrigerator.

Store cooked and peeled Fava Beans in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to five days at most.

How to Prepare There are three steps to preparing a Fava Bean:
    1.    Removing the beans from the pod.
    2.    Blanching the beans to soften for easy removal of the outer shell.
    3.    Peeling off the outer shell before eating or cooking to end with a bright-green, soft-scrumptious bean!

Cook beans in a large saucepan in plenty of boiling water until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the bean. Drain well and rinse with cold water to cool. Peel outer shell of bean before eating.  They can then be eaten like edamame, or Leo’s favorite...spring garlic & olive oil, lightly sauteed and sprinkled with oregano.

Fava beans have a long tradition of cultivation being among the most ancient plants in cultivation and also among the easiest to grow. It is believed that along with lentils, peas, and chickpeas, they became part of the eastern Mediterranean diet in around 6000 BC or earlier.   Fava bean seeds were used by the Greeks to vote with (black was no).

Coming Soon Potatoes

Foul Medammas
1/2 onion chopped
couple of cloves of chopped garlic
1 medium tomato
1-2 cups of shelled favas
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. chilli powder
1 1/2 T. Lemon Juice
1/2 c. parsley
Sauté the onion and garlic in a large, non-stick skillet for about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 4 minutes. Stir in the fava beans, cumin, and red pepper, and cook on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and mash the fava beans lightly, right in the skillet, until most of the beans are mashed. Scoop into a serving bowl, and mix in the lemon juice and parsley. Serve with warm pita bread.

Coming Soon
There's lots of great looking produce coming your way, the potatoes are getting close.   This is the first of the peas, so the serving will be much more generous barring any help from gopher beastie.  There will be more lettuce,  garlic, more greens, kale, and some day, if the weather stops dropping below 45 in the evening, we should have corn, beans and tomatoes.... last night it was 37.   As a comparison, this week last year we were eating potatoes, not just admiring them.

Dumb Cluck has finally hatched out her one and only baby chick.  We're calling him Little Pecker.  George, the Rooster is very proud.  If she quits sitting on him, and hiding him behind her fanny feathers, I'll take a picture.  He's a cutie.

Have a great week.